Cruise firm adopts charity as its partner for 2025

A cruise company has announced charity Reuben's Retreat will be its 2025 charity partner.

Cruise line Virgin Voyages’ UK sales team will aim to raise vital funds for the charity, which supports families who have suffered the loss of a child or have a child living with medical complexities, through a variety of initiatives and events. 

They include being headline sponsor of the annual ReuBall in July, which will be themed Night with a ‘splash of red’, in honour of the new partnership.

A skydive is also planned, with Virgin Voyages UK Sales team bringing together some well-known industry colleagues and peers from across the travel industry to ‘make the leap’. The charity will also have a presence at the cruise line’s trade events.

Reuben’s Retreat was founded in 2012, following the tragic passing of 23-month old Reuben Michael Graham, from an extremely rare brain tumour.

Despite crippling grief, his mum, Nicola Graham, wanted to help other families facing tough situations, offering them a place where they could relax, recharge, remember and rebuild. The charity is currently working with 734 individuals and has supported over 1,800 since it launched.

In the last 10 years, what was an old hospital in Glossop has been transformed into Reuben’s Retreat - a place of hope, support and love. The money Virgin Voyages raises will help on the charity’s ‘Forever Home Stretch’ as it fundraises to complete its remaining build phases.

The work will include two ground floor accessible apartments with an interconnecting studio as well as two upper floor apartments for families to enjoy making precious memories together.

SJ Walker, Director Of Sales UK at Virgin Voyages, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to partner with Reuben's Retreat to help them achieve their incredible goals.  At Virgin Voyages, we have created an Epic Sea Change which not only relates to our Sailors and oceans, but also for people and communities. We will be delivering a number of activations throughout 2025 to raise funds for them to help deliver their purpose in supporting families. This partnership is the perfect opportunity to support the passion and dedication that is driven by Reuben's Retreat and we can't wait to deliver on our promise.”

Nicola Graham, Reuben’s mum and founder of Reuben’s Retreat, said: “Our charity has always had a wonderful connection with the travel industry, given it was the sector both myself and my husband Mike worked in. Back in 2023, we got introduced to Jack Atherton from Virgin Voyages, one of TTG’s class of 23’s 30 Under 30, a specially selected group of emerging talent from the industry,  and he became involved in some of our activity. Mike had also spoken to SJ about Reuben’s after working with her for some time and they very kindly put us forward as the charity partner.  We were over the moon to receive the call to say that we’d been chosen.

“Some of the Virgin Voyages team came to see us at the Retreat in the late Summer and it was lovely to be able to show them first hand who we are and what we do. We are both grateful and excited to be working with such a fantastic team, iconic brand and formidable force! They’re a wonderful group of people and they’ll never know how their kindness really will make such a difference to hundreds of families.”